Horse Sport Ireland announced that Simone Hession has been appointed as High Performance Para Dressage Manager ahead of the FEI Para Dressage European Championships in Ermelo later this year.
Hession succeeds Debora Pijpers in the role and takes over a Para Dressage programme in excellent shape, with Irish athletes achieving multiple top-10 finishes at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
She brings a wealth of experience to the role as a Horse Sport Ireland Level 2 coach and accomplished dressage rider, based at her yard, Beezies Stud in Sligo. From here, she combines her coaching with breeding and producing Irish-bred horses.
As an athlete, Hession is best known for competing in dressage with a number of home-bred horses from Preliminary to Grand Prix level. She is also the founder and organiser of the successful Wild Atlantic Dressage Festival.
Hession said: “I am privileged to be given the opportunity by Horse Sport Ireland to work as the High Performance Para Dressage Manager. Irish athletes have previously achieved outstanding results internationally, and the future looks just as promising as we build towards European and World Championships, with the ultimate aim of an Irish team at the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028.
“I would like to thank and acknowledge everything Debora Pijpers has done in the role before me. She has had such a positive and lasting impact on Para Dressage in Ireland and has laid the foundations for what I hope will be a very exciting period for the sport.
“I am very much looking forward to working with the athletes, their support teams, and Horse Sport Ireland to continue this success and help develop new combinations and talent for the future.”
Horse Sport Ireland Head of Sport, Legal and Governance, Avalon Everett, added: “We are delighted to welcome Simone to the High Performance team at this important stage as we look to build on the programme’s recent success and grow its impact into the future. The focus now is on identifying and developing new athlete-and-horse combinations to strengthen Ireland’s pathway towards European and World Championships and ultimately Los Angeles 2028.
We also look forward to working closely with Para Equestrian Ireland and their newly appointed Chair, Helen Kearney, to collaboratively support and grow the discipline for the benefit of athletes and the wider para dressage community.”
-- HSI press release
Related Links
Debora Pijpers Steps Down as Irish Para Dressage Director
Paralympian Sarah Slattery Named Irish Field Dressage Rider of the Year 2024
Debora Pijpers, Interim High Performance Director of Irish Para Dressage team